Inverted
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Naruto's life as a leaf shinobi was full of secrets and lies. Keeping them was simply a way of survival. The jutsu he had invented as a child so that he could experience companionship was just another secret. But it came at a cost. His time was running out. Starts as male Naru but switches to fem OC/Gaara.
1. Chapter 1

Inverted-

Chapter one

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_No one see's what mine eyes see._

_The blood and pain of the path stretched out before me, _

_Shattered and broken, this is the place where I dwell._

_My own little personal hell._

_No one sees what mine eyes have seen, _

_The broken stairway to heaven and destroyed dreams-_

Her voice was so much clearer tonight, Naruto thought as he sat in the tree branches above the new and inproved team Kakashi. Keeping watch for any enemy shinobi that might be on the prowl in the darkened shadows of the woods just beyond the dying glow of the camp fire below.

_You're sad. _He pointed out as the soft feminine voice in his head fell silent.

_Not really, _Came the slow reply as he tipped his head back to gaze at the moon's silvery light through the tree limbs overhead. _Tired...mostly. _She finally said as he narrowed his azure eyes at nothing in particular and stared a hole through the leaves.

His long blonde bangs falling in his eyes slightly as he slowly and carefully- so as not to wake Sai, Kakashi or Yamoto who were all sleeping right under him- leaned his back against the tree trunk and began to calculate how much time he must have left.

By his calculations, he didn't have much longer. Niether of them did.

Naruto Uzumaki's time as a leaf village shinobi was to be notoriously short lived due to a jutsu that he had created as a child. Already he had been showing signs of losing himself. The chakra fluctuations, fainting spells, dizziness and vomiting he had been experiencing before he had taken this mission were all tell tale signs.

So was the faint bluish green markings that had been appearing on his body. The ones that stregnthened the jutsu's hold on his mind and body.

_That's to be expected I suppose._ Naruto thought with a tired sigh. He was starting to feel exhausted, his eye lids drooping a bit. It was only when he almost fell out of the tree that he managed to shake himself awake enough to right his balance so that his teammates could continue with their rest undisturbed. _I'm getting tired too. _He finally confessed as he squirmed a bit on the tree branch before stilling completely.

_Are you scared? _She asked. Her tone colored by concern.

Naruto blinked then closed his eyes and pictured her in his mind. It took very little effort due to their bond, and soon he found himself standing in the inner sanctum of his own mind across from a sixteen year old girl with features eerily similar to his own. The shape of the eyes, the lips, shape of her face, height, a petite build that was more along the lines of Sakura's- the color of their hair was similar though hers was longer in the front and back.

The front tips falling around her jaw while the back fell almost to her waist.

Today she was wearing all black with the exception of her skirt which was the same violet color of her eyes with black stripes going diagonal across it. She looked at him, her violet eyes wide with surprise upon seeing him as he slowly moved, closing the space between them as he asked her, _Are you scared? _

She looked down and sort of shifted back and forth as he came to a stop directly in front of her and studied her appearance for a moment before reaching out and gently, oh so gently- as if she were made of spun glass, touched his fingertips to the bottom of her jaw and tipped her head back so that he could look her in the eyes as he asked, _Well? Are you scared?_

_No._

Bending down a bit, Naruto growled, _Liar. _As he wrapped his arms around her and dragged her against his body to give her a hug. It wasn't much. And he kept the contact as brief as he could only because he could feel himself starting to drift off to sleep again and knew that he would get into trouble if he stayed much longer.

Abruptly letting her go, he stepped back and ran the knuckles of one hand along the soft curve of her cheek. His expression gentle as he said, _I'm sorry to cut our talk so short, but I can smell that the sun is starting to rise. And that means the others will be awake soon._

She gave him a sad smile that looked just a touch..._lonely_ to him. But nodded her head in understanding. _Okay._

_I'll see you again soon- _He promised as he started to turn away. This time he got no reply from her. Only a sense that she would stand there and wait forever for him to keep his word if she had too.


	2. Chapter 2

Inverted-

Chapter two

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They had just finished their mission of delivering important documents to a feudal lord, and had made their way to the outskirts of town when Sakura announced that she was hungry and turned her moss green eyes on her teammates then asked in a not too subtle tone if it would be okay to get something to eat before they left to go back to the village.

Kakashi and Yamato exchanged looks of amusement when Sai pipped in that he was a mite hungry too and something other than an energy bar would be greatly appreciated. Leaving the final decision to Naruto whom seemed to be strangely lacking in energy and lagging behind just a bit.

Everyone looked in his direction as Sakura called out, "Naruto! Wanna get some ramen?"

Naruto, whom had been staring at the ground, frowning as his vision blurred and faded to black for a moment causing him to almost trip when he heard Sakara call out to him and jerked his head up in the direction of her voice. His mind a jumble of, _No, no! Not here! Not now! _And, _I have to stay concious. I can't let on that somethings up. _

He needed to hold out until he was behind the closed doors of his home where he could put up warding jutsu's to protect him in his vulnerable state.

But the thought of eating- even if to keep up appearances- made his stomach lurch in protest as bile burned the back of his throat. "Naruto!" Sakura called again, this time impatiently.

Swallowing the bile he feared would come completely up at any moment as his skin broke up into a cold sweat, he shook his head and said softly, "No thanks." As he brushed past his team, ignoring the startled looks on each of their faces.

"Naruto doesn't want ramen..." He heard Yamato say in shock.

"I know-" Kakashi said in disbelief as he looked around before saying, "I almost expect the world to end right here and now."

"Or for Sauske to show up and beg us to take him away from that pedo Orochimaru." Sakura said in a hushed tone as Sai nodded his head in silent agreement.

"I _can_ hear you, ya know," Naruto said in an uncharacteristically weak tone as he tried to cover for his lack of appetite before turning and suggesting halfheartedly, "Instead of ramen, could we maybe get dango or sweet dumplings?" His companions all blinked at him for a moment as if unable to comprehend what he had just asked before Kakashi said slowly,

"If that's what you would like..."

"It is." Naruto lied as his vision went blurry again and his knees suddenly felt shakey. Oh god was he going to faint right here? Right now? He wondered as the world suddenly went pitch black and he started to fall. He heard the alarmed yells of his friends as someone caught himaround the waist with one arm and used the other as a for pillow his head before gently scooping him up bridal style.

And all Naruto could think was, _Damn, I'm never going to live this down. _

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They should have known something was wrong with Naruto, Kakashi thought as he picked his former student up in his arms as Sakura and the others crowded around him with horrified looks on their faces. From the very start of the mission he had seemed to be lacking in his usual hyperactive energy. He had been eerily quiet. Speaking no more than one or two words at any time, even when spoken too.

He ate little, and though Kakashi had caught him vomiting up his food at one point, he had merely shrugged the incident off as it being nothing.

But now- now that he thought about it- Naruto felt almost weightless in his arms, almost as if he hadn't been eating for a while, his body radiating an unnatural heat as sweat ran down his face. _How could I have missed the fact that Naruto was ill? _He wondered as he clenched his teeth in anger and looked at his team with a carefully blank expression as he said, "Well, looks like lunch is out of the question for the moment."

Sakura, slipping automatically into medical nin mode, reached out and placed her hand against Naruto's skin and gasped as she jerked her hand back. Her green eyes widening in alarm as she looked up at Kakashi and said, "We need to get back to the village..._now_."

"What's wrong with him Sakura?" Kakashi demanded in his most authoritive tone. The pinkette just shook her head and bit her lower lip as she adjusted her pack and tried to think of what would cause Naruto to suddenly become so ill.

There were poisons.

Though Naruto had proven in the past to mostly be immune to them. And then there were jutsu's, similar to curse marks that could possibly make him ill. But ever since Sauske's defection, Naruto had become oddly suspicious of people he didn't know. But if a person could get the drop on him, then he would have no way to fight back...

The thought of someone placing a curse mark on Naruto, possibly without his knowledge, made her feel like both crying and being sick at the same time. **_"Sakura!"_ **Kakashi's voice cut though her thoughts as he all but shouted, _"What is wrong with Naruto?" _

Tears welled up before she could stop them as she gave him a stricken look and said in a hushed tone, "I-I don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

Inverted-

Chapter three

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Kakashi stared at Sakura for a moment in stunned disbelief as his mind tried to grapple with what she had just said. She didn't know. She, Sakura, medical nin and apprentice to the lady fifth- one of the most genius medical nins of his time- didn't know what was wrong with Naruto.

He didn't know how to react to this information as panic slowly started to set in.

_Oh god, oh god-_ He thought as Sai quickly pulled out a blank scroll a brush and some ink and started to paint a bird while Yamato, recognizing the signs of Kakashi's panic, stepped in and started to bark out orders to the rest of the team in his sempai's place.

"Sai we need transportation. Sakura, you will attend to Naruto, and when you run short on chakra Kakashi and I will give you some of ours."

_"Hai." _Both Sakura and Sai said. Sai with a determined look. And Sakura with a worried one.

Turning to Kakashi, Yamato reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed as hard as he could. Hoping that if he could inflict a little bit of pain then Kakashi would snap out of whatever funk he was in and come back to them long enough to reach the village and help Naruto.

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_Naruto held her trembling body in his arms as another violent seizure took control, forcing him to place his wrist in her mouth as he tried to hold her thrashing body to keep her from harming herself while the inner walls and floors of his mind quaked and started to splinter around them. _

_Looking around for a moment, Naruto subconciously pulled her body closer to his own- almost crushing her with his free arm as her seizure subsided. _

_Glancing back down at her pale face, he noted the sheen of sweat coating her pale skin, her eyes staring up at him in misery as he removed his wrist from her mouth and carefully wiped at the blood that she had drawn from him with his fingertips and whispered brokenly, "Just a bit longer- You just have to hold on for a bit longer." _

_She closed her eyes for a moment and he felt his eyes prick with unshed tears as the walls of his mind suddenly gave a violent heave. He let out a startled yelp and wrapped his body around hers as they were both thrown painfully to the floor. _

_Using his body to protect her own, they both hit on their side. Naruto's cry of pain was muffled by the crook of her neck. _

_"N..aru..to..." She mumbled, her body too exhausted and sore for her to care overly much about any new wounds she may gain. Naruto took a moment to catch his breath before moving to uncurl his body from around her own as he gently reached out to brush some of her bangs away from her face so that he could press his forehead against her own. _

_His azure eyes pained on her behalf. _

_"Just a bit longer and then everything will stop." _

_Her throat worked convulsively for a moment as she opened and closed her mouth, trying to tell him that she was getting scared now. Naruto noticing the look on her face gave her a wane smile, trying his best to let her know that everything would work out. He wouldn't let anything happen to her._

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The wind whipped several strands of her hair into her eyes as Sakura sat on her knees next to Naruto, pouring her chakra into the blonde- searching frantically for what had made her friend ill. So far all she could feel was his chakra spiking then vanishing as if it wasn't even there. Which was frightening in itself considering how much chakra Naruto's body held and that one had to die first before it vanished completely.

"Sakura, how's Naruto's condition?" Yamato asked from his place next to Sai at the head of the large bird that they were currently riding on. Sai looked back at her, his expression while shuttered didn't stop his gaze from showing his concern. After all, Naruto had been the first person to become his friend when he first joined team Kakashi.

Sure the blonde would hiss and growl about Sai being a bastard sometimes, but in Naruto's defense... Sai knew he was a bastard. So he could hardly fault Naruto for calling things as they were. Still, aside from that, Naruto had proven to be one of the kindest and friendliest people Sai had ever known.

Because of the blonde, the dark eyed young man's world had broadened and he had gained new experiences and a circle of tight knit friends that he knew he could trust to have his back.

If Naruto vanished from his world, Sai felt as if he would be broken.

"His condition is deteriorating rapidly." Sakura called back as she tried for what felt the hundredth time to stablize Naruto only to fail. Gnashing her teeth in frustration, she tried again and felt the nearly overwhelming urge to slap Naruto awake so that she could yell at him for not co operating and letting her help him.

It was stupid to feel that way, she knew. Especially when Naruto may not be at fault here. It had crossed her mind a time or two that he hadn't realized that he was even getting sick considering that he had never so much as had the sniffles before in his life.

"Is there no way that you can stabilize him? We're still hours from the village." Kakashi said, his tone taking on a desperate note that none of them had ever heard before.

Sakura tried again and let out an alarmed cry when Naruto's body suddenly started to convulse. Startled by this turn of events, Kakashi scrambled over to the boy and quickly gripped his shoulders to hold him down while Sakura did her best to keep from crying when he started to foam blood red siliva from his mouth. Holding Naruto's head still with one hand, she reached out and wiped at Naruto's mouth with her gloved hand.

Smearing the blood around his lips as the convulsions slowed then eventually stopped.

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_Naruto felt like he was in hell. _

_It wasn't the agony of merely watching her suffer that made him feel this way- it was the deeply rooted fear that he would lose her if the jutsu continued for much longer coupled with his own physical suffering. Already he had started to seize and puke up and cry blood. _

_His mind would go blank, and his grip on her body would tighten painfully causing her to cry out and struggle to get him to release her. It didn't work of course, but when he returned to his senses enough to realize that he was hurting her, he would loosen his hold. If only for a little while as he panted for breath. _

_This latest time he had left bruises on her and caused her to bite into his shoulder through his clothes, drawing blood from him as he slowly came back to himself feeling shakey and nauesous. She released his shoulder abruptly and pushed against his chest in an effort to put a little space between them as he looked at her through pain glazed eyes. _

_"Sorry," He said in a rough, hushed tone that only she could hear. She lay on the ground next to him- yet still within reach with her pretty eyes closed as she curled in on herself and tried to stiffle a quiet sob. "Hey, it'll be okay." He said after a moment as he felt another fireball of pain makeing it's way down his spine, stealing his breath so that he couldn't speak again..._


	4. Chapter 4

Inverted-

Chapter four

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Sakura was working furiously, draining her chakra reserves to practically nothing.

It had been over two hours since Naruto's collapse and though she tried time and time again- she still couldn't seem to stablize her friend. _Don't give up Sakura. Naruto would never give up if your places were reversed. _In fact she doubted that he ever taken the time to learn the true definition of the word 'defeat'.

That was simply just one of the things that she had come to love about him.

But at the same time she couldn't ignore the fact that there was something horribly, horribly wrong with him. The changes taking place were subtle. You had to really know what you were looking at in order to see it. But about an hour ago Naruto's face had softened and started to take on a more feminine appearace.

The grinding of bones shifting and changing position under his skin had caused the blonde so much pain that his eyes had opened just long enough for him to let out a howl of agony so blood curtling that everyone had nearly fallen off of Sai's bird in shock.

Shortly after that he had started clawing at his own throat- As if he couldn't breathe and had had to be pinned down by Kakashi and Yamato before he had started to cough up blood before his azure colored eyes had rolled up in their sockets and he had lost consciousness again.

It was very shortly after that that Yamato had pointed out that Naruto's blonde hair was slowly growing out. After which Kakashi had grabbed one of his hands and studied it before telling Sakura to take the other and tell him what she saw different about it. Sakura had done as her sensei had bid her, carefully picking up Naruto's hand and holding it in hers as she stared at it.

Aside from the grinding of the bones moving under the skin, the flesh itself felt..._off._ Softer. Naruto's normally blunt nails had grown out an inch or so and now closely resembled Tsunade's oval shaped nails.

Which meant that whatever was happening to Naruto was definitely unnatural.

Shifting her position a bit, she sat back and tried mentally going over the list of symptoms that led up to Naruto's illness and frowned when she realized that she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Sure Naruto had been unnatrually quiet and would move away from the rest of them the second they made camp- but he had taken up that habit ever since the Sasuke incident three years ago.

Deciding to try looking at things from a different angle (and hoping to god to get some frigging answers) Sakura asked Kakashi to help her remove Naruto's jacket so that she could look for physical evidence that would hopefully explain what was happening to her friend.

Kakashi's movements as he stripped Naruto of his jacket were painfully slow in Sakura's opinion, but she said nothing since she understood all too well that the Hatake was taking things slow deliberately so that he wouldn't end up hurting Naruto even more since his bones had finally started to crack and snap as if they were being broken over and over again before resetting themselves.

Using the palm of one hand to gently cushion the blonde's head, Kakashi had just finished hearing a cringe worthy **_crack_** from somewhere in the middle of Naruto's torso and stopped in mid motion, his dark blue eye flickering to Sakura's face as the bottom dropped out of his stomach. _Oh shit! _Had he just accidentally broken a rib or something?

Sakura shifted forward so that she was leaning in over the blonde again and ran her hands along Naruto's torso to see what had just cracked and frowned when she felt the chest under her hands.

It felt...different. The torso was more slender, the stomach flatter, the muscle naruto had gained from all his years of training seemed to have disappeared to practically nothing.

Taking another glance at Naruto's face she noted that it looked more like his sexy no jutsu in appearance though his hair just barely reached his collarbone, and had lightened to an ash blonde that reminded her of Ino's. His bangs had grown out to frame his face, his skin had gone from a healthy light tan to a soft peach.

And the whisker marks that he was so notorious for were completely gone.

_What was going on here? _She wondered as she double checked Naruto's chest just to make sure that nothing was broken and scowled when her fingertips came into contact with two very peculiar swells that if she didn't know any better were the beginnings of breasts.

Blinking she ran her hands over the area again just to double check, then hooked a finger in the collar of Naruto's navy colored shirt and pulled it away from his body as she leaned over and peered down it and made an automatic squeaking sound as her eyes widened in shock.

Kakashi, seeing Sakura's reaction- narrowed his eye at her then demanded, "What is it?"

Sakura looked at him, her mouth opening and closing for a moment as she tried to compose herself enough to speak when Sai moved from his spot and mimiced what she had done before she could so much as grab at him to stop him. He peered down Naruto's shirt for a moment, froze, blinked, then asked quite clearly, _"Are those breasts?"_


	5. Chapter 5

Inverted-

Chapter five

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_"Are those breasts?" _

Sakura gaped at Sai's lack of tact as both Kakashi and Yamato shouted, "What?!" in unison while moving to see for themselves if Naruto really was growing boobs. Sakura bristled slightly at their antics and grabbed Naruto and held the blonde's torso against hers as she kicked both men in the stomach causing them to double over as the air left their lungs and growled,

"Hey! No peeking!"

"But Sakura-" Sai started to say when the pinkette grabbed him and dangled him over the side of the bird and hissed in a tone that brooked no arguments.

"I said _no_ peeking!" Sai looked down at the blur of trees under him and then looked back at Sakura and quietly prayed that his shirt didn't rip. He doubted he'd survive the fall from this height.

"But Sakura if Naruto has had a jutsu placed on him to turn him into a woman, we need to gather as much information on his condition as possible." Yamato said, trying to reason with the medical nin. Sakura turned and deposited Sai back on the bird, much to the former Anbu's relief, and turned a furious emerald green stare on Yamato and snarled in her meanest, darkest tone.

"No. Peeking. Or. Else."

"Sakura for now, Naruto is still considered a male- it's not perverted to check." Kakashi said as he held his hands up, palm out.

"I'm sorry are you trying to tell me that even though Naruto is out and defenseless, that it's perfectly okay for you- an older man- to peek down the shirt of a sixteen year old whom up until a few hours ago had _no_ boobs at all? Because I- the medical nin of this team, am here to tell you right now that unless you plan to court Naruto while in his female form- then you should keep your damn hands, eyes, mouth and everything else- _to yourself_!" Sakura fairly shrieked at the three of them as she pulled Naruto closer to her and started running her fingers through his silken hair noting mentally that it had grown out another three inches.

Settling herself away from the others with Naruto still tightly clasped in her arms she eyed the three almost menacingly. _Male or female, _Naruto didn't deserve to be gaped at and groped by the others just to satisfy their damnedable curiosity.

No, he- er she, deserved every bit of respect from them regardless of how baffling the current situation was.

Though Sakura thought it a safe bet that the changes in Naruto would likely make him totally female by the end of the day. Or possibly tomorrow depending on whether she could stabilize him by then and maybe slow the changes down or revert them so that he would go back to normal.

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Tsunade was sitting at her desk, her chair facing the window of her office as she glanced over at her shattered tea cup. A bad feeling settled in her gut as she closed her eyes and saw an image of Naruto's back in a long dark hall. Moving steadily away from her.

Her office door opened and Shizune came in as Tsunade asked, "Have you made contact with team Kakashi?"

Shizune looked around nervously for a second before answering, "No. But we have reports from Team Gai that they saw one of Sai's ink paintings heading this way."

"Then I was right and something has happened," Tsunade said quietly to herself as she slowly pushed herself up out of her seat and then said, "How long until they get here?"

"An hour. Maybe less."

"I want a medical team of the best nins we've got at the gate to greet them and provide any help should they need it."

"And you my lady?"

"I'll be going as well. Something is wrong with Naruto. I can feel it."

Shizune nodded her head solemnly before asking, "What can I do to help?"

"Summon Jiraiya and Iruka then send a letter to Gaara telling him that Naruto needs him. I'm sure that he'd jump at the chance to be here in the village and away from all that paper work."

"Right away my lady!"

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_Naruto slowly and painfully sat up, the bones in his arms, legs, and joints all popping as he did so- and took a slow steady breath as he took stock of the walls of what once used to be his mind. _

_Everything was so different. _

_Sure the pipes and water remained along with the Kyubbi's jail. But the walls seemed so much brighter, the darkness that had partually consumed him as a child was nowhere to be seen. The almost steady dripping of water from the pipes overhead was no longer there, and the large gate to the Kyubbi's cage seemed to be much, much thicker. _

_A precaution? He wondered as he looked down at his friend for a moment, noting that she was unconscious before reaching up and with what little strength he had left, ripped the necklace he'd been given by Tsunade as proof that he was indeed successor to the title 'hokage'. And pressed the green crystal necklace into her hand and curled her fingers around it before awkwardly, and tentatively getting to his feet and whispered, "Goodbye." before he started to walk away. _


	6. Chapter 6

Inverted-

Chapter six

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_Reaching up and with what little strength he had left, ripped the necklace he'd been given by Tsunade as proof that he was indeed successor to the title 'hokage'. And pressed the green crystal necklace into her hand and curled her fingers around it before awkwardly, and tentatively getting to his feet and whispered, "Goodbye." before he started to walk away. _

_Silently praying that Sakura, and everyone else important to him would forgive him for leaving without fulfilling his promises to them. _

_His promise to become hokage._

_His promise to be Gaara's best friend, always._

_His promise to bring Sasuke back to the village...and a million more-_

**_She_**_ would have to bear the weight of his promises in his place from this day onward. Ignoring the ache forming in the middle of his chest, he quietly made his way tawards a gate that was slowly constructing itself from the floor up against the farthest wall of her mind and paused just for a second to look back at her. _

_She would be waking soon. And when she did, her memory of herself and of him would be in pieces. _

_Shattered almost like the glass of a mirror. There would be times when she would manage to grip a sliver of that glass, times when she would remember him. And it was at times like that, that Naruto would 'see' through her eyes. Perhaps he would even get to speak with her like he did when they were children. _

_Smiling faintly to himself as he turned his back on her again, and muttered to himself as he pushed the gate open and stepped through, "Wouldn't that be something?" _

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The second they reached the gate of the village, Sai willed his bird to land as Tsunade, Jiriaya, Iruka and a whole medical team waited for them to get off of the ink painting. Each of their expressions ranging from concern to determination as Sakura was forced to hand Naruto over to Kakashi who took the slightly smaller and more fragile looking teen, and jumped down without any regard to himself.

And no sooner than he set foot on the ground- was rushed by Tsunade and the medical team as Naruto was taken from him while Jiraiya and Iruka hung back out of the way and and watched as Sakura was asked what had happened.

Sakura, looking weary and a bit haggard- answered their questions to the best of her ability as Tsunade turned on Sai, Yamato and Kakashi and started firing questions.

"What happened?"

"We don't know."

"How long has Naruto been like this?" She asked as she took in the teen's features as well as the sweat stained clothing, the damp hair, the pained look on the blonde's face that only seemed to become more and more pained with each breath.

"He's-" Kakashi started to say, _He's been like this for several hours, _but stopped himself and shook his head then said. "She's been like this ever since she collapsed several hours ago. Symptoms to the illness are, weakness, fainting, loss of appatite, fever... Oh yeah, and apparently turning into a girl."

Tsunade looked at the copy nin, her honey gold eyes narrowing slightly as she growled out, "Pardon?" _What the hell had Hatake just said about her little brother?_

"Naruto...is a girl now." Kakashi said and was just a bit startled when Tsunade rounded on him and grabbed him by his vest and lifted him up in the air and shook him as she all but shouted,

"What the hell do you mean Naruto's a girl now?! That's a physical impossibility! People don't just change their gender's at random!"

"That's what I thought too-" Sakura said as she reached out and grasped Tsunade's wrist in her hand and gently squeezed so that her master would look at her before she continued, "But if I hadn't seen it for myself then I would still believe that. But the evidence to the contrary is right there... My lady, I saw the changes in the _beginning_ and _final_ stages. I even checked Naruto repeatedly before we landed. Kakashi isn't lying. This is no elaborate prank. _Naruto is a girl._"

Tsunade released Kakashi after a moment then with a 'tsking' sound made her way over to the medical nins that she had summoned together and rudely pushed her way through so that she could examine Naruto for herself.

At first glance the teen laying on the stretcher that had been brought looked like Naruto did when he pulled his sexy no jutsu. There were subtle differences in the face, and body. For starters she noticed that there were no whisker marks on the teen's face. The hair was longer- perhaps almost waist length and lighter in color.

Reaching out she laid her hands on the girl and let her chakra flare for a moment.

She could feel pain, deeply rooted in the bones and joints of the girl's body and an almost pricling, burning sensation in the lungs, heart and other organs. Frowning she reached deeper, trying to find out if the Kyubbi was the root of all of the distress she felt under her fingertips and opened her eyes when she heard Jiraiya let out a shakey sounding oath and looked down.

There, glowing a soft lavender color, running along the cheeks, and down the chin to the bands around the neck and dissapearing lower- were strange markings that could only be described as parts of a curse mark.

_"No."_ Tsunade breathed as she withdrew her hands as quickly as if they had been burned and simply stood there staring at the markings in horror and...was the suffocating feeling welling up in her chest _rage? _

Gnashing her teeth she turned to her former teammate and saw him staring at the markings too, his expression mercifully blank for the moment as she asked, "Is the mark one of Orochimaru's?" Jiraiya glanced at her for a moment and shook his head no.

Orochimaru wouldn't waste his time placing a mark on someone like Naruto. The kid was simply too difficult to control.

"Is there anyone else that could have placed the mark on him?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya reached out and took one of Naruto's wrists in his hands and examined the markings as Sakura suddenly said in an alarmed tone,

"Careful lord Jiraiya! Naruto may appear to be in a more stable condition right now but during the change, his bones had to break and reconstruct themselves to create his current form. One wrong move could rebreak the bones now that they're healing." Jiriaya nodded and under Sakura and Tsunade's watchful eyes, carefully turn the slender wrist this way and that- checking the marks before they slowly faded.

Then laid Naruto's arm back in place on her stomach then stepped back and motioned at the med nins to take the stretcher to the hospital then looked over at Iruka and nodded his head, indicating that he should go with them just in case Naruto took a turn for the worse or woke up.


	7. Chapter 7

Inverted-

Chapter seven

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One day later-

Naruto's fever was finally going down and her condition finally seemed to stabilize on it's own, making it easier for her to breathe while she rested.

Tsunade, after her last examination of her little brother's body- to try and fill in the blanks- had left to go back to her office where she was found by Sakura an hour or so later with a cup and a bottle of sake sitting in front of her as she glared out the window. "My lady?" Sakura said as she entered and quietly closed the door to her office.

Twitching slightly upon hearing her student call her name, Tsunade asked without looking at her, "How is Naruto?"

"She's finally stable and resting more comfortably."

"Her fever?"

"Almost completely gone."

"Iruka?"

"Still at the hospital. He's decided to stay with Naruto while the rest of us get some rest so that we can take turns watching her."

Tsunade tossed back her drink and held the liquid in her mouth for a moment before saying to herself, "I always did like that man-" Then asked, "How are you holding up Sakura?"

The pinkette took a moment to chew on her bottom lip before answering in a shakey tone, "I'm...okay."

Tsunade turned in her seat to look at her upon hearing this, a doubious expression on her face as she said in a dry tone, "You're best friend and teammate has just undergone a major change that we have no idea is permanent or not- And you're okay."

"You're right that was a lie. I'm not okay, but I cant afford to fall apart when Naruto will need me. Besides, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai are freaking enough to have me covered."

Tsunade made a hmming sound and sat back in her seat and folded her hands over her stomach, "Just wait until tomorrow when the rest of the village finds out that Naruto's down."

Sakura blinked at her for a moment then groaned and face palmed, "Oh god, it'll be a circus..." Tsunade hummed again and set her sake aside and glanced at Sakura again and said, "Just wait until Gaara gets here. Then it'll be even more of a circus."

Sakura's jaw dropped and she made a horrified squeaking sound before nearly shouting at her master, "You didn't! Why would- Gaara might not- _Oh my god!" _Sakura fumbled for words before wailing as she made to pull at her shoulder length pink hair, "Poor Naruto."

Tsunade stared at her for a moment then started drumming her crimson nails on the arm of her chair in a small sign of irritation. After drinking so much sake, Sakura's wail was giving her a headache. "Do you mind? I'm brooding here and you're voice is starting to give me a headache." She snapped as Sakura fell silent and looked at her like she'd like to burst into tears at any moment.

Sighing Tsunade's expression softened as she held a hand out to her and muttered, "Come here." as she slowly stood up and braced herself to be hugged. Sakura looked at her for a moment then launched herself at the older woman, catching her around the middle and squeezed as Tsunade ran her fingers through her hair for a moment before saying,

"If you ever tell a soul about this hug, I will not only deny everything...but I will end you." Sakura sniffled a little and nodded her head to show that she understood.

(************************************************* ************************************************** *******************)

_The moment she tried to claw her way to consciousness, her body was wracked with so much pain that a ragged scream was ripped from her throat. Startling awake the dark haired man that had been snoozing in the chair next to her. _

_She made an attempt to breathe through the pain- an effort to stay awake- as the man all but jumped up out of the chair and moved to hover over her. His dark eyes concerned as his lips moved in what she assumed was a flurry of questions. _

_But no sound came out. _

_Frowning, her lips moved in an effort to tell him that she hurt. But she couldn't seem to get her vocal chords to work. And finally after several agonizing moments gave herself back up to the black void of unconsciousness._


	8. Chapter 8

Inverted-

Chapter eight

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When Shizune stepped foot into Naruto's room in the early morning to check the teen's vital's she found Iruka wide awake, his shoulders hunched, his head hung causing several dark strands of his hair to fall in his face as she made her way to the bed and started to reach out when he grabbed her wrist and rasped, "Don't."

Just a little startled and put off by his grip on her, she tried to give him an encuraging smile as she said coaxingly, "I'm just going to check her vitals Iruka-san."

Iruka looked up at her through dark bloodshot eyes and slowly shook his head no. "Don't bother. I checked them earlier. They're still stable."

Shizune frowned, she wasn't aware that the school teacher had any medical training to take an injured person's vitals and be absolutely sure of said person's condition. In fact to her knowledge he had no medical training at all. Deciding to humor him until he was relieved by one of Naruto's other friends, she merely smiled at him and lightly tapped his hand to get him to let go.

But the man was stubborn. And narrowed his eyes at her, the wheels in his head turning as he said, "Pulse is good, blood pressure is one hundred fifty over sixty. Her fever still hasn't broken yet- but it isn't going any higher either. These are all good signs."

He kept the little tidbit about Naruto waking up and trying to say something before losing consciousness again to himself. Knowing that it wouldn't really help things much at this point anyways.

Which was part of the reason he had stayed up all night after his former student had woken up and tried to speak. For all he knew Naruto had been trying to tell him what was wrong with him or even how to fix it. But that could wait until the blonde was awake, alert, and could tell them what he remembered (if he remembered anything) since forcing the teen to wake using medical jutsu should be only a last resort due to the fact that it _would_ and _could_ damage the mind and body further.

And that was something that Iruka absolutely wanted to avoid.

Even if it meant going rogue and kidnapping Naruto from the village just to save him.

Shizune blinked at him for a moment in confusion before asking, "How do you-"

"Before I started Anbu when I was younger- I pulled a doctor aside and had them teach me some stuff. Then when I became a teacher, the third hokage felt I should learn a bit more... Just in case. I agreed with him there since Mizuki refused to have any training and children tend to get into mischief and get hurt. Often times very badly. I learned how to treat broken bones, nicked and severed arteries, loss of limbs. Believe it or not back in the day I was almost as bad ass as the lady Tsunade. I merely chose to use my skills to better benifit the future of the village in a different way."

"I never knew that you had medical training."

"Yeah well, I'm not the only one- Kakashi knows some too. The third hokage made it very clear to him that he needed to learn it since Naruto would likely be needing it ever other day. I'm not sure how far he got, but he complained endlessly about Naruto needing to be patched up every other Tuesday," Iruka said as he finally released her wrist so that he could sit back in his seat before muttering, "And now here it is almost four years later and Naruto has switched things up so that he needs a medic every other Saturday. It's no wonder Kakashi is so tied up in knots. He just can't win with this kid."

Shizune felt her amusement bubble up and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. _Good grief. How does a person manage to need patching up every other Saturday regular as clockwork? _She wondered as she went around the bed and checked the IV in Naruto's other arm, hoping that the girl hadn't accidentally pulled it out sometime during the night.

Luckily for Naruto, she hadn't. So the IV didn't need to be put back in.

She checked the bag of fluids and wrote a few things down in the chart that she held in her hand then said absently, "Tsunade had me contact Gaara about our current situation, asking him to come to the village."

Iruka looked at her strangely for a moment before tentatively asking, "Does she think he may know something?"

Shizune shook her head no and set the chart aside before replying, "No. But I think that as Naruto's friend, she felt he should be here."

"Naruto will have a hard enough time understanding what happened to him if he was blindsided, Shizune. So how can having Gaara see him like this help? Did anyone explain to Gaara that Naruto had changed? That he _may_ have had his memories altered?" Iruka asked in an dark tone as he slowly got to his feet and glared at Shizune who squeaked and quickly moved to the farthest side of the room.

_Oh man, if looks could kill..._ Shizune would be a puddle of blood on the floor. But she had to admit that he had a point.

Gaara had only been told that Naruto had fallen while on a mission, she hadn't been advised by Tsunade to tell him the full extent of the blonde's injuries or even if he was still alive. And knowing how close the two teens were there was a good chance that Gaara would take one look at Naruto's new form, demand answers then take up a semi permanent residence in the village until Naruto was A) himself again, or B) had adjusted well enough to function.

Which could be weeks, months, or even years.

Biting her lip, she frowned and looked out the window- only paying the slightest attention to Iruka adusting the sheets over Naruto before he sat back down. Now that she thought about it, had it been a good idea to tell Gaara nothing?

(************************************************* ************************************************** ***********************)

Unblinking aqua eyes stared down at the parchment in shakey hands. The message he held caused an ache to form in his chest as he scanned the words again in disbelief.

_Naruto has fallen._

Impossible. Naruto would never fall and yet there was no arguing with the words on the paper before his eyes.

_Naruto has fallen._

Damn Tsunade, why had she not sent for aid if his friend needed him? And why did it not say whether Naruto was alive or not? Growling in irritation he started to crinkle the paper, then stopped himself and sighed as he set the paper in his lap and smoothed it out then neatly folded it and put it away and looked out of the blind hanging over the window next to him.

"Naruto..."


	9. Chapter 9

Inverted-

Chapter nine

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The village gossips were a pain in the ass, Kakashi thought as he walked by yet another group of people talking about Naruto falling while he had been on his latest mission. And while many of the people listening were worried about the teen, others merely gossiped for the sake of gossiping.

It was much like what had happened after the Sasuke incident. The boy hadn't been able to so much as walk the streets or sneeze without everyone and their cousin knowing in under an hour.

Something that was annoying to Kakashi since everyone gossiping so far was speculating as to what had caused the number one knuckle head to collapse in the first place. Some said it was poison. Others believed that Naruto had gotten into a huge fight with someone and drained all of his chakra.

Kakashi was almost tempted to shout at them for being idiots then let them know that they were way, _way_ off on this one.

But decided that it would be better for everyone involved if no one outside Naruto's immediate circle of friends knew anything just yet. After all if the blonde was stuck as a girl, she'd have to make some major adjustments. They all would.

For instance he would have to get used to looking at Naruto and seeing a very cute and desireable, _drive-you-out-of-your-mind-with-lust_, girl in place of his favorite male student. Not only that but he'd have to stay on his toes and keep the boys away from her...

Sighing as he lifted his free hand and ran his fingers through his silver hair, pushing some of it back from his face as he thought about how many guys he was going to end up killing and burying in the next few months.

It wasn't looking good for anyone with a dick, he'd tell you that much.

Stopping outside of a flower shop, he took a moment to pick out some white roses, cosmo's, lavender snap dragons, and some babys breath and fern leaves to compliment the rest of the flowers and had a bouquet put together. Then once the flowers were paid for he carefully picked them up and examined them before tucking them under one arm and walking back out of the shop so that he could continue on his way to the hospital.

After all if he was late relieving Iruka he had no doubt that the brunette would kick his ass.

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The rookie nine were in a panic.

And not for the typical reason, like a mission going wrong or someone trying to assassinate lady Tsunade. No. They were in a panic because they had each heard the gossip spreading like wildfire through the village.

One of their own- their friend, Naruto- had fallen and was currently in the hospital and **_No one_** knew why!

No one even knew what his condition was because Sakura had refused to tell them anything when they had gone to her home and woken her up earlier demanding answers. "What do we do?" Tenten asked as she glanced up from her seat on a tree root, at her teammates Neji and Lee. As if hoping that they had the answers.

Neji hummed and looked at the others.

Lee looked like he wanted to put his fist through something. Kiba had a look of utter disbelief on his face. Not that Neji could blame him, out of all of them Naruto had always seemed the most untouchable. Shino was silent, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, his head bowed. Shikamaru and Choji both looked angry.

Or perhaps they were irritated. It was hard to tell.

Ino and Hinata both had the same expression as Tenten. Concerned/fearful.

Everyone was silent for a moment when Kiba finally seemed to shake himself from his funk and ask, "What do we do?"

"That should be obvious," Lee replied before saying, "Naruto is our friend and right now he needs us."

"That's true but if his condition is being kept under wraps then there isn't much that we can do at the moment."

"Are you really going to let that stop you from going to the hospital and checking on Naruto?" Shino asked, his tone almost sounding like a dare.

_"Hell no." _

(************************************************* ************************************************** *****************)

Iruka had sat still for as long as he could stand and though Kakashi was a bit late, he knew the man probably had a good reason. And so decided to go ahead and go home for the time being.

Getting up he stretched a bit and popped his back and rolled his shoulders then looked down at Naruto and sighed. She was resting well, so it shouldn't hurt to leave her alone until Kakashi got there. Especially since he should be there in just a few more minutes.

Walking towards the door, Iruka opened it then stepped out into the hallway. Noting that there was barely anyone around aside from a nurse or two. Closing the door quietly behind him, he started walking away from Naruto's room without realizing that a pair of violet colored eyes had been watching his back as he left.

(************************************************* ************************************************** ************************)

_Who am I? _She wondered as she opened her eyes and did a quick scan of her surroundings before her gaze landed on the dark haired man from before. _Oh. I remember him. He was here when I woke up before. _Closing her eyes as the unknown man stood up and stretched, she pretended that she was playing a game of sorts with him.

The aim of the game however was to see how long it took for him to realize that she was awake.

Apparently it would take a while, she thought almost in disappointment as he left the room. Thus leaving her by herself.

Pushing the sheets on the bed back a bit, she leveled herself up on her elbows and tried to sit up. And the second she did, the room swam, her vision blurred, and it felt like she had several jackhammers pounding away at the inside of her skull- causing her to lose her balance and keel over onto her side with a groan.

Dear god, what the hell had she been doing to herself to end up in such a state? She couldn't remember.

Much like her name at the moment, how she came to be in such a weak and deplorable state was a total mystery to her.


	10. Chapter 10

Inverted-

Chapter ten

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Pushing the sheets on the bed back a bit, she leveled herself up on her elbows and tried to sit up. And the second she did, the room swam, her vision blurred, and it felt like she had several jackhammers pounding away at the inside of her skull- causing her to lose her balance and keel over onto her side with a groan.

Dear god, what the hell had she been doing to herself to end up in such a state? She couldn't remember anything. Much like her name at the moment, how she came to be in such a weak and deplorable state was a total mystery to her.

Sitting there for several moments, she let everything settle down before trying again to sit up and this time felt the slight tug of the IV in her arm and looked down. A small frown flickering across her features as she picked at the tape holding it in place then finally after a second or so just decided to yank the whole damn thing out.

Wincing slightly when the needle tore her skin a bit. Sending a small spray of blood into the air. Causing her eyes to widen a bit as she quickly slapped her hand to the small area and tried- yes _tried_- not to feel sick.

_Eek- _Whoever had placed the IV in her had obviously been going for a main vein or something. _I am so happy I wasn't awake when whoever stuck me... _She thought as it occurred to her that she might have had to be tied down if she had been awake. She would have thrown such a fit. But that's what happened when someone was scared enough to throw punches, kick and scream over the slightest of pin pricks against their skin.

She gripped the bleeding area of torn flesh so hard that she was sure she would leave a bruise on her skin, just to stop the bleeding. And waited a minute or so for the bleeding to slow before taking away her hand and glancing down at the raw and angry looking flesh and inwardly cringed. _Ugh- _That was going to scar.

Glancing around the room she noticed some brightly colored clothing folded neatly and set on a small table a few feet from the bed and looked down at herself to confirm that the clothing was possiblely hers.

She was wearing a hospital gown. The standard thin cotton kind.

And there was no one else in the room. No other beds or people. So the clothing must be hers. Getting up she walked over to the small table and grabbed the pile of clothing, noting the colors, the size, and style.

The navy colored wifebeater was big enough to wear as a dress. The shirt was so big it would come down to her knees. And the orange and navy jacket looked like it would swallow her whole. The shoes were a tad bit big on her feet but at least she could wear them.

And after a bit of deliberation, decided that she couldn't simply streak through the halls naked and so she stripped herself of her hospital gown and pulled on the shirt and jacket.

Once she was done dressing, she moved to the door and opened it a sliver and peeked out into the hallway. There was no one outside. No one (sick, maimed, dying or healthy) which she found just a bit un nerving. In fact she half expected a mob of flesh hungry monsters to come hobbling around the corner and try to tear her face off.

What sort of medical facility didn't have anyone wondering the halls anyways?

_Oh that's it, I'm out of here. _She thought as she quietly slipped from her room and started running in the first direction she could think of. And after finding a map to see which floor she was on, used the stairs to make her way down and out of the building where she ran around the back of said building and climbed the fence that surrounded it while thinking, _Jesus Christ! It's like they treat their patients like criminals! _

Wait just a second-

The moment her feet were on the ground again she paused to consider whether she had broken any laws recently. She probably had. But she was fairly certain that she hadn't killed or destroyed anyone.

Killing and destroying people was best left done over the weekend. That way she had time to plan out how to kill or destroy them, as well as how she was to escape the authorities.

Speaking of authorities... She needed to move before someone was called.

She'd imagine that whoever ran the facility wouldn't be very happy to have one of their patients missing. Besides, nothing looked familiar to her. So getting a good look around before her strength gave out might be a good idea. It also might help her remember some things.

Like who she was and _where_ she was.


	11. Chapter 11

Inverted-

Chapter eleven

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_Where_ she was looked like something straight out of a Shojo manga or historical fiction movie. Everything was so..._old fashioned_. The clothing that the people wore, the goods being sold in the stores, mode of transportation, even the weapons that she had seen a select few carrying around in the open.

Katana's. Metal fans. Knives of all shapes and sizes.

Each wickedly made to do the maximum amount of damage to the human body. Among other things that made her shudder and wrap her arms around herself as if the action would provide some protection against the unknown dangers she suddenly found herself surrounded by.

She would have to tread carefully here lest she might gain unwanted and (at this point in time) _unwelcome _attention.

"Hey," An man's deep voice said right next to her shoulder. _Like now, _She thought wryly as snapped her head to the side, and looked up at a man who had to be in his thirties. His head was completely bald and there were slash scars along with burn scars on his face. He was bent at the waist a bit, his onyx colored eyes staring her down for a moment before he straightened his spine and crossed his arms over his- dear lord, the man had a torso as thick as a tree trunk- chest and asked in a deceptively warm tone, "Are you new to the village?"

She took a small step back, wanting very much to flee as she shook her head and eyed him warily.

The man made a soft humming sound and smiled at her and gave a cheery, "Oh alright then. Sorry to have bothered you." Then walked around her and disappeared into the crowd. Leaving her standing there with a 'What the hell?' expression on her face.

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The hospital was in utter chaos by the time the rookies got there to check on Naruto. There were doctors and nurses running in every direction and each time one of them tried to ask someone about their friend- that person would say, 'Not now.' or 'I can't tell you!' then run off. Infuriating the teens while making others even more concerned for Naruto's general well being.

It wasn't until Kakashi appeared with a panicked look on his face that they realized why the hospital was in such an uproar to begin with. The look on the older man's face said everything.

But just to make things even clearer, it did help that Kakashi managed to choke out- "Naruto is missing."

Which caused all hell to break loose among the rookies.

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Sai was walking out of his favorite art supply store when something orange caught his eye.

Looking up from the paint brushes in his hand that he had just purchased, he scanned the crowd passing along in front of the shop and frowned slightly when he caught sight of a sixteen year old female with blonde hair almost down to her waist- Sort of staggering around as she looked from one side of the street to the other with an expression of open curiosity and awe.

"Naruto?" Sai mumbled under his breath as he quickly packed his new art materials away and hurried after the girl.

To his knowledge, niether Sakura nor lady Tsunade would have released Naruto after the incident that had occured yesterday. It would be considered irresponsible of them to do so while Naruto was still for all intents and purposes- _sick_.

So natrually seeing the blonde up and moving around- outside of hospital walls- made him wonder if Naruto was delirious. Or possibly sleep walking or something. Although...he had no real clue how someone could manage to sleep walk themselves right out of a hospital without being caught.

But seeing as Naruto was his teammate, and was currently up and walking around in a daze like state- then maybe he should keep an eye on her and make sure that she didn't get into any mischief.

He got half way up the street when he spotted several of Ibiki's Anbu following her and bit back an oath as he started shoving every blue hair and random person getting in his way, out of the way. Not really caring where any of them landed or if they got hurt as long as he reached Naruto before the Anbu did.

After all ibiki didn't know about the changes in Naruto's appearance and might think she was an enemy. Someone new to question and torture. And if Naruto was unable to give him the answers he wanted, well, he just might murder her thinking that he was protecting the village.

He shouldered his way past an elder with a small child and put on a small burst of speed- coming up behind Naruto low to the ground and quickly scooped her up and tossed her over one of his shoulders causing her to let out an alarmed shriek as he forced himself to laugh and say, "Oh! So here you are dear."

Naruto partially twisted around in his grasp and looked down at him wide eyed. Her rose colored lips parting slightly as if she wanted to ask him what the hell he was doing as he continued to babble, "You had me worried when you were late for our date. We were to meet at Ichiraku's. Did you forget?" His eyes scanned one side of him as he shifted his hold on Naruto's slender body and then scanned the other side of him.

The Anbu were still there. He could see every damned one of them.

But at least they had halted in their tracks._ For now. _He thought darkly as Naruto pushed against his chest and squirmed- apparently trying to free herself from his grasp. Finally after tightening his grip on her a bit, she shocked him by punching him in the shoulder..._hard. _

_Ow! _Sai thought as he slowly tilted his head back to look at her. She had such an adorably infuriated look. Like she wanted nothing more than to hand his balls to him on a platter.

Was it strange that he thought that was cute? He wondered to himself as he set her down but then grabbed her hand and leaned in close and whispered, "Stay close to me."

Naruto looked up at him (huh, he was an inch or so taller than her now. weird) and blinked her violet eyes at him then asked in a tentative tone, "Do I know you?"

Sai started to open his mouth to say yes, but instead frowned at her and brought his free hand up to push her bangs back from her forehead. She still had a fever, he could tell that almost automatically from the warmth of her hand in his grasp. But he had wanted to be totally sure of it before he reacted. After all Naruto's memory could have somehow been affected by the mark they had found on her shortly after the change.

But then again, in theory, Naruto's memory could have been wiped blank when she had collapsed. Or could have been affected by the fever she was running. He wasn't a doctor, but those were the only things that seemed logical at the moment.

She reached out with her free hand and jabbed him in the upper arm- right where his arm meets his torso and gave him a dark look before growling out, "Do. I. Know. You."

"Ow. Yes, now stop hitting me." He hissed out as he rubbed the throbbing area. Dear god it felt like she had almost dislocated his shoulder! She glared at him and raised her hand to jab him again when he felt his left eye twitch a bit as she asked,

"If we know eachother then what's your name?"

"First of all if you jab me again, I'm throwing you to the wolves-" He said in a warning tone, his expression serious. "And second of all, my name is Sai."


	12. Chapter 12

Inverted-

Chapter twelve

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_"Sai?" _She said with a peculiar look on her pretty face as he took a moment to smile at her and look her over, then frowned. Why was she just dressed in her orange jacket? Sure it was long enough to fit her body like a dress, but it was inexcusable for her to be running around without some pants on. Why, just anyone in the general vicinity of them could see her long shapely legs!

She brought her hand up and snapped her fingers in front of his face. Causing him to jerk slightly as his eyes flew to her face as she asked in a suspicious tone, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," He lied as he reached out and took her hand in his. He needed to get her off of the street before he wound up fighting every pervert in the village trying to protect her. "Are you hungry?" He asked politely.

Naruto pressed a hand to her stomach after he asked her if she was hungry, and bit her lower lip as she considered his question for a moment. Knowing that it wouldn't it be wise to go with someone who claimed to know her? Especially someone that she didn't remember.

After all, for all she knew it was a trick of some kind.

And she had a sudden apprehension that it was the old _meet-an-amnesia-patient-and-pretend-to-know-them-s o-that-you-could-drug-them_ routine. And though she wanted to turn Sai down, she couldn't deny that there was something familiar about him that tugged at the back of her mind. "I...probably shouldn't..." She started to say when Sai cut her off and said,

"Nonsense. We'll go to Ichiraku's and you can eat as much as you like. I'm buying." Sai said coaxingly as he caught several Chunnin and Jounin looking their way. He needed to get Naruto off of the street ASAP. She was far too recognizable to the shinobi and citizens in the village, even in her new form.

"Eh?! B-But-" She started to protest when he began to drag her along beside him. She stumbled a little bit at first, but caught up to him easily and managed to keep pace with him as he maneuvered them through the streets to Naruto's favorite place to eat.

Once there he pushed Naruto inside, away from prying eyes and pulled a scroll with small birds painted on the paper and summoned one for Sakura, another for Kakashi and a third one to take a message to the rookie nine. Then pulled out several small slips of paper and quickly wrote out, 'I have Naruto. She's safe.' Then sent the birds flying with their messages tightly clutched in their little ink claws.

"Ah Sai, welcome!" The guy inside the restaurant said pleasantly as the smell of chicken, pork, deep fried coconut shrimp and vegetables wafted through the air as the man turned and caught sight of her and frowned a bit as Sai asked to have a word with him as a young woman came out of the back carrying a crate in her arms.

The man left the counter and disappeared into the back with Sai as he young woman put the crate down and then straightened her back and said, "Hello Naruto. Would you like something to drink while dad and Sai talk?"

Shifting uncomfortably on her feet, she looked at the young woman blankly causing her to frown and start to ask her something when Sai and the man returned. "Ayame, why don't you get Naruto some of our new tea, and a milk on the side while I give her a menu and let her figure out what she would like." The man said as he started to pass the young woman and paused- just for the briefest of seconds and gave the woman's shoulder a squeeze.

Ayame? Looked over her shoulder at the man as he made his way over to the little island with seats lined up, and waited until Sai had pulled a seat out for her and patted it- indicating that she should sit down before he bothered speaking. "Come in, and sit a spell Naruto-" He said gently when he noticed her hesitation to move from her spot in the doorway.

She took a small shuffling step forward, then another. Unsure of what else to do but do as she was told for the moment, and finally sat down as Ayame returned from her errand with a cup of steaming tea- lemongrass from the smell of it- and another cup full of milk and placed both in front of her, just off to the side a little bit as the man said. "Sai tells me that you haven't been feeling well."

It was a half question half statement.

Odd that he could manage to say something and make it sound so peculiar to her ears. "Uh...yeah..." She said as she cast a quick glance at Sai as if to say, _What the_ _hell man? _What exactly was she supposed to say here?

The man gave her a kind smile and reached out and took one of her hands in his and squeezed it as if to say, _'It's okay.'_ Then said, "Well, I know the perfect cure for feeling bad. How about I give you one of my famous seafood bowls on the house?"

She opened her mouth as if to protest but Ayame stopped her by saying, "Nuh-uh, Naruto-chan. It's best to say yes or you'll hurt father's feelings."

Feeling at a loss, she sat there for a moment and caught Sai staring at her from over the top of his menu while Ayame and her dad waited for her to respond.

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Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose as she pushed away from the gate so that she could stand up straight and roll her shoulders, next to her Gaara and his two siblings- part of his elite guard- listened as one of Kakashi's ninja pups informed them of Naruto's sudden disappearance from the hospital. And felt the sudden urge to tear down the walls of the village in a fit of murderous rage.

Dear god, what the hell was wrong with the staff at the hospital that they could let a sick patient (especially Naruto) disappear into thin air like this? Didn't they know that Naruto could pose a risk to himself as well as the rest of them- _unconsciously _of course, but the threat was very real just the same.

"What is Kakashi doing?" Gaara asked as the ninja pup finished it's report.

"He and the rookie nine are currently searching for Naruto so that she can be brought back to the hospital." The pup said.

"Do they have any leads as to where Naruto would go?"

"Not at the moment, but I heard Kakashi mention a few places Naruto might go. Home. Ichiraku's. Training ground seven..."

"I see." Tsunade finally said as Gaara stepped forward and said softly,

"I'll join the search as well."


	13. Chapter 13

Inverted-

Chapter thirteen

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"I'll join the search as well." Gaara said as he stepped forward. Tsunade gave him an uneasy look, wondering if she should fill him in on some stuff before turning him loose on the village and after a heartbeat or so of hesitation decided that preparing him for what he'd find might be for the best.

"Hold on Gaara- Before you go there's something I need to clue you in on," Tsunade said before falling silent for a moment. Gaara, noting her hesitation, reached out with one hand and placed it against her cheek hoping to encourage her to speak freely. Whatever it was that was bothering her, he could bear it. As long as Naruto was alive and in one piece. Nothing else mattered to him. "It's about Naruto's condition. The truth of things is that he underwent a major change that was forced on him by what we believe to be a curse mark. The problem is that we have no idea how the mark got on him, how it's affected his mind or much else..."

"Do you believe he is a threat?" Gaara asked, trying to hide his dismay at the mere notion of Naruto being a threat to anyone in the leaf village. The teen got upset when he killed small animals for food when he was on missions for cripes sake!

Tsunade looked down at her feet. Her silence telling him all he needed to know about her worried thoughts.

Growling, Gaara hissed at her. "You should believe in Naruto more than this Tsunade." Then took a step away from her before asking, "Anything else before I go?"

"Yes," Tsunade said almost quietly before asking, "Have you ever seen Naruto's sexy no jutsu?"

Gaara looked at her from over one of his shoulders, his expression almost comical as he replied, "His sexy no- _what_?"

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Kakashi read and re read the small piece of paper containing Sai's message then looked over at Sakura and Tenzou and sighed. The weight that he'd felt in his chest loosening up with the knowledge that Naruto was safe. With Sai...

The same Sai who often got into mischief and had to be slapped or punched by Sakura. _I feel a headache coming on. _Kakashi thought as he lifted a hand to rub at his chest through his vest.

"Does he say where they are?" Tenzou asked as he moved in a little closer to peek at the note. Kakashi shook his head 'no' and frowned, wondering why Sai would do that. But figured that as long as Sai could manage to keep himself and Naruto out of trouble until they were found then everything would be fine.

Tenzou fell silent and scowled a little bit as Sakura shifted subtly where she stood and said, "Well we've checked training ground seven and Naruto's apartment plus several other places. I say it's time to check out Ichiraku's."

"Are you saying that because you're hungry or because you really want to find-" Kakashi stopped talking the instant he found a kunai pressed against his crotch and gave Sakura a slightly panicked look from the corner of his eye as a strangled sound escaped his throat while he noted Tenzou had moved a good thirty feet or more away and was chewing on his fingernails.

The scum sucking little brat-

Sakura gave her former sensei a Sai-like smile and pressed the tip of her kunai into his tender flesh a bit as she said, "I want to check out Ichiraku's."

"Right. Okay," Kakashi hurriedly agreed as Sakura removed the kunai from his jewels and called out to Tenzou.

"Hey we're going to Ichiraku's."

Tenzou stopped chewing on his nails long enough to give her a strained looking smile and wave as he called out, "I'm right behind you!"

_Yeah, way behind us you son of a bitch. _Kakashi thought darkly as they started to move again.

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Sai sat across from Naruto watching her try to master the use of her chopsticks and fail miserably. A small worried frown marring his features as she asked, "So how long have we known each other?" She managed to pick up some noodles out of her bowl but then lost her grip on them and dropped them, causing the noodles to slosh some of the broth in the bowl on her.

She hissed and jumped back in an effort to escape being spattered, but it was too late. The skin on her hand was hit and already turning a deep painful looking red that alarmed Sai to the point of taking the chopsticks from her, and asking for a spoon then grasped her wrist while he picked up a napkin and dipped it into his ice water so that he could dab at her hand with it.

Sakura wouldn't be happy if he returned Naruto to the hospital with more wounds than she already had.

The second the napkin made contact with the scalded skin on her hand, Naruto gave a sharp hiss like intake of breath and tried to pull her hand away from his grasp. Tightening his fingers around her wrist, he held firm and glanced at her face for signs of discomfort.

Oh, if looks could kill- he'd be a charred, smoldering mess on the floor. Naruto looked so unhappy with him at the moment that she absolutely could have killed him. Deciding that it might be in his best interest to distract her, Sai finally answered her earlier question. "We've known each other for close to three maybe four years."

"Oh." She said in response to his answer, sounding almost disappointed.

He looked at her as he dipped his napkin in his ice water again and was about to ask her if she was upset by his answer when the flap at the door of the restaurant was thrown back and a tall young man with red hair, wearing an knee length long sleeved maroon shirt with black pants stepped through the door and scanned the place for patrons.

Sai stilled and was about to excuse himself when aqua colored eyes locked on him and then flickered to Naruto.

_Damn._


	14. Chapter 14

Inverted-

Chapter fourteen

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_He looked at her as he dipped his napkin in his ice water again and was about to ask her if she was upset by his answer when the flap at the door of the restaurant was thrown back and a tall young man with red hair, wearing an knee length long sleeved maroon shirt with black pants stepped through the door and scanned the place for patrons._

_Sai stilled and was about to excuse himself when aqua colored eyes locked on him and then flickered to Naruto._

_Damn. _Sai thought as he slowly set his napkin aside and glanced across the table and silently debated on throwing the table and everything on it at the Kazekage's head as he quietly made his way over to them and stopped next to Naruto who was trying hard to ignore the imposing figure standing so close to her. Either that or she was trying to vanish underneath the table.

It was one of the two, Sai thought when Gaara spoke. His soft silken voice moving over Sai's teammate as if it were a physical caress. "Naruto?"

She glanced up at the red head as Sai took note of Gaara's reaction to her new appearance.

The Kazekage looked as if he had just been punched in the stomach, though his expression remained for the most part- blank, but Sai got the impression he was truly speechless. Not that he could judge him any for that. Naruto, in his female form, was an honest to god angel in appearance. What with the long pale blonde hair and vivid violet eyes, the soft peach colored skin and tempting rose pink lips-

Any hot blooded man would react to her in much the same way Gaara was.

Which told Sai that the new Naruto would cause endless trouble for him in the near future.

"Naruto," Gaara said again as he slowly bent down into Naruto's personal space and caught her chin with one hand so that he could tilt her head back and look more closely at her. She jerked a bit when his fingertips brushed the underside of her jaw and stared up at the stranger as he leaned in so close that some of his shaggy hair brushed her face. "Do you know who I am?" He asked, his tone both curious and anxious.

He needed to know.

He needed to know if his friend was still in this new form somewhere. If he remembered anything from his previous life or if his memories had been erased when he had under gone the change.

One thing that puzzled him was the lack of energy he felt from the Kyuubi when he touched Naruto. Normally the energy surrounded his friend like an invisible cloak. Protecting him without his knowledge. But now- now- he felt...almost nothing.

It was as if the fox demon had been sealed away again ten times over, locking it's protective powers along with everything else- away.

_Could that be the reason for Naruto's change? Seal markings? _Gaara wondered as Naruto stared at him a moment or so longer before reaching up and taking a strand of his shaggy shoulder length blood red hair in between her fingers and rubbed them together curiously.

Gaara could recall Naruto doing the same thing when their villages had been on better terms after the chuunin exams had taken place. He could even recall Naruto telling him that his red hair was 'pretty'. His heart constricted in his chest as he held his breath and waited for his childhood friend to say something. Anything to confirm that he was still in this strange new form.

Finally after a moment or so of playing with his hair, the blonde dropped her hand to her lap and said, "Sorry...but I don't think I know you."

And with that, Gaara's world shattered into teeny tiny pieces.

His best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, was gone...


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry, I haven't felt really motivated to update lately. I was having trouble thinking of how to carry out the next few chaps.

Inverted-

Chapter fifteen

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_Naruto Uzumaki, was gone..._

Fighting back the feeling of panic threatening to suffocate him, Gaara stared at the girl through wide eyes and reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, feeling the slenderness of her bones under his hands- through her jacket and almost pleaded with her desperately to remember.

They were friends! Comrades.

Kindred spirits for fuck's sake!

How could anything erase their bond so easily? Had the years, the battles and memories of being together that had formed their bond really been such fragile things? So easy to forget and dismiss?

Was _he_ so easy to forget and dismiss? He wondered as his heart constricted in his chest. Making it feel like a hand had wrapped around the organ and was squeezing it. Forcing the air from his lungs, slowly.

Oh, how it hurt.

_But I have to be strong. Even if Naruto is no longer with me, he left something just as precious behind, in his wake. _Whoever the girl was, he felt- no, _knew_ that his adopted brother had left her behind for a reason. Slipping his hands from her shoulders, he lifted them so that he could frame her face in his hands and tried not to flinch when he saw her eyes widen in apprehension as a tremor ran through her and lowered his head towards hers until their foreheads touched.

Taking a moment to steady his shaken nerves, he closed his eyes and took several breaths. Once he felt his panic slipping from him he opened his eyes again to find the girl staring at him intently. Almost like how Naruto used to and said, "It'll be okay."

The girl blinked her unbelievably clear violet eyes at him as he drew back a little bit and then pressed his lips to her cheek then in a quick jerky motion, turned his head to glare at Sai as he growled out, "Let nothing happen to her."

Sai gave the red head a dark look as he thought, _Uzumaki was my friend too- If he left this girl to our care then she must be someone very special. _And anyone trying to get to her, to cause her harm- would die screaming. And as much as he wanted to voice his thoughts to the Kazekage, he held his tongue and just nodded his head in understanding.

Knowing that the situation right now could become extremely volatile if any of Naruto's enemies were to discover that he had somehow been changed into a girl with her memories of being a shinobi erased.

Yes, he would protect Naruto- even as he was now with no memories of him or their bond.

Gaara dropped his hands from her and straightened his spine and moved away from her and closed his eyes again and let himself dissolve into tiny grains of sand so that he could return to Tsunade's side. He had a million questions and possible theories about Naruto's condition and he needed to get them out in the open and find out what the Hokage knew.

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The second the imposing red head started to dissolve into sand, her eyes widened in disbelief and she automatically pushed her chair as far back away from the vanishing figure as she could as Sai came up out of his seat and said tentatively, "Naruto-"

"H-He vanished!" She squeaked in a horrified tone, suddenly finding it hard to breathe around the hysterical fit threatening to overtake her senses.

Sai put his hands out, palm out as he slowly moved around the table. Careful to take slow calculated steps so that he didn't frighten her more than she was now as he tried to speak to her again, "Naruto?"

"H-He vanished! Just poofed- and disappeared!" She said in a shrill tone as she started to hyperventilate. _Why was it that the weird shit always happened to her? _Seriously had she been dropped into the Twilight Zone or something? Because she was scared. Like really, really scared.

"Naruto... What Gaara did is normal. Every S-class nin or higher can do it. I can do it too. Do you want to see?" Her face paled and she quickly shook her head 'no' as she half turned in her chair and tried to climb over it. Hell no she didn't want to see.

Was he crazy?

Had the red head been crazy? Or had he simply been a ghost or figment of her imagination? Wait- was she crazy?

As if sensing what she was thinking, Sai said firmly; "Naruto, you aren't crazy."

"Are you sure?" She asked in a small child like voice. Her expression pleading as she stared at him. Sai reached out slowly and took one of her hands in his and forced her back around to sit in her seat as he nodded his head and muttered.

"Yeah. I'm sure."


End file.
